Read the Bible Daily

Some solid words of advice from J.C. Ryle:

"Make it a part of every day’s business to read and meditate on some portion of God’s Word. Private means of grace are just as needful every day for our souls — as food and clothing are for our bodies. Yesterday’s food will not feed the laborer today; and today’s food will not feed the laborer tomorrow. Do as the Israelites did in the wilderness. Gather your manna fresh every morning. Choose your own seasons and hours. Do not scramble over and hurry your reading. Give your Bible the best, and not the worst part of your time! But whatever plan you pursue, let it be a rule of your life to visit the throne of grace and God’s Word every day."

And a few more from the Desiring God Blog on reading the Bible:

Don’t rest on past reading. Read your Bible more and more every year. Read it whether you feel like reading it or not. And pray without ceasing that the joy return and pleasures increase.
Three reasons this is not legalism:

1. You are confessing your lack of desire as sin, and pleading as a helpless child for the desire you long to have. Legalists don’t cry like that. They strut.
2. You are reading out of desperation for the effects of this heavenly medicine. Bible-reading is not a cure for a bad conscience; it’s chemo for your cancer. Legalists feel better because the box is checked. Saints feel better when their blindness lifts, and they see Jesus in the word. Let’s get real. We are desperately sick with worldliness, and only the Holy Spirit, by the word of God, can cure this terminal disease.
3. It is not legalism because only justified people can see the preciousness and power of the Word of God. Legalists trudge with their Bibles on the path toward justification. Saints sit down in the shade of the cross and plead for the blood-bought pleasures.

So lets give heed to Mr. Ryle and never grow weary of the slow, steady, growth that comes from the daily, disciplined, increasing, love affair with reading the Bible.

Do not think you are getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are by no means those which make the most noise, and are most easily observed. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced.
Think of the influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs. Remember how silently the dew falls, and how imperceptibly the grass grows. There may be far more doing than you think in your soul by your Bible-reading. (J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion, 136)

Winter Has Struck But...

Okay, so winter has finally struck up in Minnesota with below zero temperatures and some snowfall.  It was inevitable I guess.  But we are keeping warm with thoughts of our upcoming trip to Orlando, Florida for this year's Ligonier Ministries National Conference- yippee!  This year will be the best conference of all as my dear husband will be attending with me for the first time ever.  I have always wanted to share in this with him so I am really, really, really excited!  This year's conference theme is the Christian mind and is being advertized thusly...

BURNING HEARTS ARE NOT NOURISHED BY EMPTY HEADS

One of the things most alarming about today’s culture is the way in which evangelicals are responding to attacks. Gone are the days, it seems at times, when believers devoted themselves to thinking deeply about the world in order to respond humbly to the church’s enemies without ceding any intellectual ground. Many evangelicals have bought into the idea that having one’s heart in the right place is all that matters—that a passion for Jesus and the life of the mind are mutually exclusive. What this view misses is that burning hearts are not nourished by empty heads. We must develop our minds if we are to sustain our passion for the Savior and deal with the bias against us.

At Ligonier Ministries’ 2012 National Conference, we will be addressing this problem as we consider the theme of “The Christian Mind.” From March 15-17, 2012, R.C. Sproul will be joined by Sinclair Ferguson, Robert Godfrey, Michael Horton, Steven J. Lawson, Albert Mohler, Stephen Meyer, R.C. Sproul Jr., and Del Tackett to consider the importance of building a Christian worldview, the role of education in the Christian life, science and God’s natural revelation, defending the faith, and many other topics. It promises to be an exciting time of training and fellowship as we all learn how better to think like Christians in order that we might live like Christians.

On top of this spectacular event we will also enjoy our time in Orlando by visiting the Cheesecake Factory nightly and this cool looking cigar lounge called Corona Cigar Co.  Once the conference is over we will head down to Tampa for a few days where we will stay in a hotel on the water.  Tampa has a number of cigar places to visit as well as Busch Gardens which is easily the best theme park in the country as it houses wild animals and roller coasters!  Awesome!

Winter in Minnesota?

We have been having some very mild temps so far this winter in Minnesota.  I have to say I am quite pleased with them.  Last week we had a day that reached 57!  Yesterday was another nice sunny day so Matt and I decided to enjoy a little hooka action.  As you can see in the picture we have no snow.  Today's high is 45 while tomorrow's is 50- yippee!  The news is attributing this mild winter to La Nina.  Whatever the cause is I like it!

We picked up this hot plate at Menards to assist in heating the hookah cools which is a very convenient way to do it. The only thing that would be better is if we were in Arizona using hot mesquite coals from the fire pit!  Someday...